Aya Takano

Aya Takano (b. 1976, Saitama) paints weightless worlds. Her slender, wide-eyed figures float through cityscapes and cosmic interiors that draw equally on shōjo manga, science fiction, ukiyo-e, and her own dream life. A member of Takashi Murakami's Kaikai Kiki collective since its early days, Takano has developed one of the most distinctive visual languages of the Superflat generation — erotic and innocent, futuristic and nostalgic at once. Her work has been exhibited internationally and is represented in prominent contemporary collections, with strong demand for both her paintings and her editioned works.